Combined holding and mounting device for mainsprings



March'lO, 192a- 1,529,386

A. J. ANDERSON coullsa" noumw .lmn Iovnrrm'a DEVICE ron l'umsrnmes wad m 5, 1924 WITNESSES I INVENTOR Z IqNTO N J HNDERSON ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 10, 1925.

ANTON J'. ANDERSON, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

COMBINED HOLDING AND MOUNTING DEVICE FOR MAINSPR-INGS.

Application filed May 5, 1924. Serial No. 711,093.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTON J. ANDERsoN, a subject of the King of Sweden, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Combined Holding and Mounting Device for Mainsprings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. V l

This invention relates to improvements in combined holding and mounting devices for mainsprings for watches and is de signed especially as an improvement over my co-pending application, Serial No. 649,- 324:, filed July 3rd, 1923. V

In said co-pending application the holder is formed from a flat piece of material hav ing an opening therein in which the mainspring is mounted and said opening communicat-ing with a slot through which the free end of the spring projects in spaced relation to the material of the holder forming an adjacent edge of said slot. This con struction permits of the free end of the spring being attached to the barrel in which the spring is to be mounted by flexing said free end transversely with respect to the remainder of the sprlng so that said free end may be disposed beneath the adjacent portion of the holder and thereafterattached t0 the barrel when the holder is placed upon the barrel preparatory to inserting the en tire spring into the barrel. However, in thus mounting the spring the free end thereof must be flexed transversely to a considerable extent so as to permit of its being positioned beneath the holder previous to the attachment of said end in the barrel and the insertion of the entire spring into said barrel. Care must, therefore, be exercised to prevent excessive flexing of the spring for if a sufficient amount of the outer convolution of the spring is projected beyond the edge of the opening in the holder the expansible pressure of the spring might result in its accidental detachment from the holder.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to avoid the possibility of accidental detachment of the spring from the holder when mounting the spring and to this end the holder is so constructed that the spring may be inserted into the barrel with only a very slight transverse flexing of the free end of the spring.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a plan view of the holder constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the mainspring mounted therein;

Figure 2 is an edge elevation; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away and shown in section, illustrat ing the manner of mounting the spring in a barrel and showing the position of the parts 111st previous to the insertion of the entire spring into said barrel.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, .the numeral 4 indicates a barrel of known construction forming the part of the mechanism of a timepiece in which the main-spring 5 is designed to be mounted. The inner wall of the barrel is provided with a projection (not shown) usually found in barrels in which the type of spring shown in the drawing is designed to be mounted, said spring having an opening 6 in its free extremity capable ofreceiving the projection when said extremity is being attached in the barrel. Itwill, of course, be understood that other types' of springs, such as that illustrated in the above-mentioned copending application, may be mounted in barrels with equal facility.

The holding and mounting device, which comprises the essential features of the invention and which is utilized to maintain the spring in coiled position after the same has been placed upon the market, consists of a body 7 formed of a substantially fiat crescentshaped plate made of any suitable material, such as aluminum. The body is provided with an eccentrically disposed opening 8 of a diameter less than that of the open end of the barrel 4 so that when the device is employed for mounting the spring in the barrel the body may be rested upon the peripheral edge of the open end of said barrel with the opening 8 disposed substantially concentric to said open end. The material of the body between the outer edge thereof centrally and hence enables the device to betterwithstand the-expansive pressure of the coil spring which has a tendency to force; the ends of the device apart? The spring 5 is first'coiled and thenl'placed within, the opening 8 and allowed to expand until the outer convolutionthereof engages U the spring, as above mentlonedfi Thus. after the edge of the opening with said edge in contact with said outer'eonvolution at a point intermediate the edges of the latter. I The free extremity of the spri'ngi's per-' mitted topr'oject outwardly through one end of thefslotf9, as shownin Figure 1,"

' and out'of contact with the material forming the opposite edg'eof said slot. By making the width of thebody' between theopen ing and the outer-edge thereof relativ ly great as compared to the thicknesspf sald inplace; V

- Preparatory barrel it isdesirable, thoughnot necessary,

to nove the spring laterally in its opening 8 until one edge' thereof is practically flush with the upper surface ofqthe' body, as indioated 4111 Figure; 3. a The free extremity of the springis then. flexedrtransversely relatl've to the remaining portion thereofa ver yf slight degree suflicient ,to enable' said] extremity to be inserted into'jthe' barrel and its o enin en 'a 'edfoventhe .ro'ectionson the 'tree extremity is attached it is necessary to inner wall of said barrel. During this atta'ching operation the body, may be rested "upon the edge ofthe open end ofthe barrel,

ortin close proximity itheretofand aftersaid manipulatev the holder soasv toflex said ex -j,

"tremity inwardly towardthe adjacent con-,. volution of the s'pring so that said frj'ee exa 'tremi ty will conform generallydt'o the con "tour of said convolution. ,In, 1ny co -pending application, mentioned. above this inward flexing er thesprin'g. isvaccomplijshedpprevious to the atta'chment .of the free extremity L in the barrel, necessitating;, cOI iderable transverse flexlng, of the, spring" to engage the free, extremity with the undersurface of the body. In the present construction means are provided which will enable the free extremity of the spring to be deflected to a position beneath the body, and consequently in a ;position where said free extremity will conform tothe contour of the adjacent convolution, by a manipulation oi: the holderiwithout, in any way handling the spriiigf Thisis'accomplished by bend- :ingthe ,material o f the bodyat the ends thereof adjacent the slot 9 to form the upstruck portionslO which project beyond the upper edge of the spring 5, even when'the spring is mounted as shown. in- Figurejf2.

' Depending upon theposition injwhich the spring is moun-ted.; inithezbody one of the bent or upstruck portions lO'willbe adjacent to the free extremity of the. spring and will present "all inclined surface thereto which will be engaged by the upper'ed'ge of the free extremityot: the spring. hasb'een attached in the holder a pressureiis exertedu'p'on the latter transverse to the planeol the peripl 1eral 'edge of the bar'relandtoward the point of attachment of the spring with the barrel. This pressure .results in {tire inward flexing of the spring. and its engage-' ,ment with the under inclined surface of the adj acent bent portion 10 until the portion of the spring extending below the. holder is entirely disposedwithin thebarrel. A slight inward pressure upon the spring itself will then project said spring entirely from the holder andint'o the barrel where the same expands into proper position. 1

lVhat is claimed is: i

, 1; In a-combined 'holdingand mounting device for mainsp'rings, a body capable of beingplaced upon a barrel in Iwhichthe spring is to be mountedand" having an opening for receiving said spring;- and La; slot communicating with said opening th rough one end of which-one extremityiof fsaid spring'is extended, said body having means adj acenti said sl'otand said extremity of the spring capable of being engaged by said extremity to deflect the same to a position un-. der the; body when the latter is manipulated relative to thebarrel to project saidspring into thebarrel.

p In a combined holding and mounting device forinainspiings, a body'having an opening therein for receiving a coiled spring,

and a slot communicating with said openmg and through one end of which one extremity of'said sprmg 1s entended infspaced "relation to the mat-eriahfor'mingth "other end ofjsaid 'slot,1the material o'f' sa-id body being formed with an inclined surface capableof engaged bysaid extremity of the spring to force'the latterinto engagement with the under surface of 'sa'ichbody after said extremity hasfbeen attached to 'abarrel.

'3. In a combined holding and' -mounting device for mainsprings', a bo'clyfo11ned'of a sheet of material having an opening therein for receiving a coiled spring, and a slot comtion of said body and said surface being disinunicating with said opening through which posed in the path of movement of said free one extremity of said spring projects in extremity when the latter is flexed inwardly spaced relation to the adjacent edge of said toward the adjacent convolution of said 5 body, the portion of said body adjacent said spring.

free extremity being bent to form av surface inclined with respect to the remaining por- ANTON J. ANDERSON. 

